Wednesday, February 27, 2013 6:56 pm

Sore knee sidelines Cavs' Irving for second game

By TOM WITHERSAP Sports Writer

Cleveland's dazzling All-Star point guard missed his second straight game with a hyperextended and sore right knee he injured recently during practice.

Irving needs time off the floor for the injury to heal properly, and he was kept out of Wednesday night's game against the Toronto Raptors. Irving also sat out Tuesday's game in Chicago, and the Cavs won without him, snapping an 11-game losing streak against the Bulls.

Irving banged knees with one of his teammates last week. But although the knee was bothering him, he played in road games against Orlando and Miami. However, Irving lacked his usual quickness and after a 6-of-16 shooting performance in a loss to the Heat, the 20-year-old said the knee was not right.

He underwent an MRI while the team was in Chicago. The tests confirmed the diagnosis by team doctors.

Irving has missed 13 games this season. He was sidelined for 11 games with a broken right index finger

The Cavs are 3-9 without Irving this season, and 7-20 over the last two years. He was out for 15 games last season with an assortment of injuries, but was still named the NBA's Rookie of the Year.

Cavs coach Byron Scott would not speculate if Irving would be back for Friday's home game against the Los Angeles Clippers, and a matchup with guard Chris Paul.

"We'll see," Scott said. "I do know it will give him four days of rest, so we'll see how he feels tomorrow and see if he needs treatment or if he can go out and do some shooting to test it. Or we might wait until Friday morning and just go through shootaround."

Normally, Scott makes players coming off injuries go through a complete practice before they can play. Scott may make an exception but said the team would continue to take a cautious approach with Irving, who is averaging 23.3 points, 5.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds. Earlier this month, he played in his first All-Star game and won the 3-point shooting contest.